Car-door.



BfB. HARRIS, B. F. DONNER & R. H. McNAlR.

CAR DOOR.

APPLICATION meu mma. 1913.

Patented Julyr 27, 1915.

fiiNrrnn strains Para.

BENJAMIN B. HARRIS', or LA IAYE'rrn BENJAMIN If. DONNER, orooLrAX, AND Rosenau II. MQNAIN, or PEORIIA, ILLINOIS.

CAR-DOOR.

Specification of Letters latent. f Patented J 1115127, 1915.

Application flied January 8,1913. ,serialnamo'sa To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, BENJAMIN nrs, of La Fayette, county of StarlgState of Illinois, BENJAMIN F. DONNER, of Colfax, county of McLean, State of Illinois, `and ROBERT H. MONAIR, of Peoria, county yfof. Peoria, and State of Illinois, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCar-Doors; and we do `hereby declare that the lfollowing is a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. l

This invention relates toimprovements in freight car doors, and particularly to a grain door, although it may be used for other kinds of Afreight as well. The door is furthermore designed to take the place of the usual gra-indoor and the outerdoor that is customarily slidable upon a track. yIn the present instance our door" is. also slidable upon a track `into and outof'the door openino.

z@ne ofthe objects of the. invention'isl to' provide a door. answering in the capacity of a grain door, or interior door, and an outer door. y

Another object is to construct a grain door that will entirely ill'the doorway,or door opening, and serve both as an inner and an outer door and movable upon a track.

Another object isv to so arrange a door that its vertical edges will lie against a jamb at each side of the door opening and thus be enabled to support very heavy loads.

Anotherobject is to constructa door having an upper opening and alower` opening both of which can be-locked and placed under the sealv of the railroad.

Still another Object is to construct a door to act both as an inner and an outerl door for the car, and provide means for making it practically weather tight.

Other objects and advantages willvappear herein and which ywill be madeclear by ref- B. IIR-l.

erence to the ...accompanying drawing, inwhich Figure lv is a side elevation vof ,a portion of a car showing our improved door inconnecthion therewith; Fig. 2 is a'..:horizontal section of a portion yof the side `of the vcar showingthe door. Fig. 3 shows thefdoor in perspective in its position in the. doorway. F1g.3 a is a plan of a part of the door and a .crank rod. Fig. 4 is a `transverse Section of a track and a member 4movable longitudinallyof the same and supported-,thereon at one side, and from which the door (not shown) is suspended. Fig. 5 isV an elevation of a'hanger for the door. Fig. 6 is a transverse section of a part of the car showing a portion'of the door, vand Fig. 7 is adetail, inv elevation, .of'ce'rtain parts shown in Figsjland A indicatesjthe side of the carand B the doorway. j

C is an overhead .track which .at one end (at the left `of Vthe drawing) is spaced from the side ofy the car, its other endvextending at an yangletoward the car and lying close to or against y-the same. f

D isla bar extending parallel to the track C and adapted. to movealong the saine. yIt is suspendedfrom the track by means of a y, yokeE, for `example .near `'each kend, Fig. 4,

suitably secured to the bar and which carries [at vitsends .grooved rollers, F which engage .theupper' and lower edges of said track. Thi'sb'a'r D constitutes a hanger for the door .which is indicated as a whole at G. Said ydoor;-,Consists preferably of a heavy sheetofmetalwhich at its upper part has a portion H hingedl at .its lower' edgev which,I when opened admits ofa grain spout .being .introduced into the resulting.y opening forthe introductionof grain into .the car.

Preferably the door portion I-I doesl not extend the .full width ofthe door but leaves at each vside of the `latter an upwardly ,eX- tending integral portion J to one of which, at n the left, issecured a casting K the other engage the keeper 2.

portion having a somewhat similar casting K. Extending vertically through the latter is a bent rod L whose upper end, as shown in Fig. 5, terminates in a casting M carrying at one side two grooved rollers N to engage the upper and lower edges of the bar D. The said bent rod maintains a fixed position relatively to the casting M and the casting K is adapted to turn slightly thereon as will be understood later. On the door below the casting K is a similar casting O. Through both of these a vertical rod P extends adapted to rock therein. The lower extremity of the rod is provided with an arm Q by which it can be turned. The upper portion of the rod is off-set in a cranked portion R lying parallel to the rod and having a bearing in a part D of the bar D, as in Fig. 3a, for' example, there being a member S carried by said portion R at each side of the said bar to prevent endwise movement of said portion relatively thereto. T is a further extension of the rod P which extends outward from the portion R and thence downward, as shown in Fig. 3, the depending portion being adapted to engage a -flat spring U secured at one end to the track C, its other end normally lying in position to meet the end of the bar D as also shown in Fig. 3a, the purpose of which will appear later.

Slidable in guides V mounted on the door is a locking-bar W adapted to overlie the door portion H and engage a keeper 2 secured to the car above the door opening. livoted upon the door section G is a bar 3 one end of which carries a depending bar 4L provided., for example, with a staple 5, as in Fig. G. r)The end of the bar 3 adjacent the locking-bar W is bifurcated, as shown in Fig. 7, and is adapted to receive a pin 6 in the lower end of said locking-bar.

Near the bottom of the door is an opening 7 covered by a slide 3 mounted in suitable guides 9 secured on said door. Above the said opening 7 is a horizontally disposed strip 10 shown clearly in Fig. 6. Hinged to the floor of the car at its outer edge, Fig. 6, is a door 11 whose upper edge is adapted to lie beneath the part 10 described when said door is closed. The strip in overhanging the door thus serves to carry off the rain and water cannot therefore pass under the door G. A hasp 12 is loosely attached at its lower end to the door 11 and its upper end has a slot 13 adapted to receive the staple 5 of the bar 4L. Any suitable device may be slipped through the staple 5 to hold the hasp 12 and the bar t in position relatively and this, of course, can only be done when the bar 3 lies in a horizontal position. In order to lock the upper door portion H the locking bar W must, of course, In order to cause and preserve this engagement said locking bar must engage the said bar 3. As the bar is raised its pin 6 enters the open end of the bar 3 and a farther upward movement into the keeper 2 lifts the latter to its horizontal position causing the bar l to be carried downward where it can be engaged with the hasp 12. When the bar 4 is dropped its pin 6 depresses the bar 3 and in following the slot therein finally passes out at the open end and then falls free. It is thus allowed greater movement in this way than if secured to the said bar 3. Any means may be used to limit the downward movement of the bar 4 such as a pin 14 in that member that will rest upon the lowermost guide V, for example. It is understood, however, that any other arrangement that will serve the same end may be used since the structure shown is merely an example of the manner in which the locking of the parts may be accomplished.

It is observed that the swinging movement of the bar 3 would not be sufficient to impart the required movement to the locking bar W to entirely release the door portion l-l. In consequence said bar W has movement independent of said bar 3. rEhe door portion H can be opened after dropping the bar l/V so that when the main door G is closed a spout may be introduced through the opening for filling the car.

Both upright edges of the door lie within sockets A A2 in the door posts as shown in Fig. 2. The socket A2 is the one which first receives the door. rlhe right hand edge of the latter is carried into said socket as it is moved along the track C. The dotted lines in Fig. 2 show the position of the door when entering or leaving said socket. IThe door in arriving opposite the socket is pushed into it. The socket is deep enough to permit the door to move into it such a distance that the opposite edge of said door can pass the door-jamb at that side so as to be brought in the same plane with the socket A which it is to enter. When the door is in the dotted line position referred to, the arms R and T of the rod 0 take the positions shown in broken lines. Now, in order to carry the door into its socket the arm Q for operating the door is moved toward the right, after having pushed the door inward in line with said socket, with the result that the cranked portion R fulcrumed on the bar D tends to shift the i latter toward the right. But as the said bar is limited in its movement in that direction as, for instance, by meeting one of the bolts that secure the track to the car, the door will be positively shifted by the cranked portion of the shaft l), acting as a lever, into said socket. Both edges of the door now have their bearings upon the door jambe, the door then taking any weight that may be imposed upon it from within, In opening the door the reverse movement takes place, that is to say, the arm Q, is moved to the left. The free end of the spring U before described which is secured on the track C normally lies in such a position as to be in the path of the bar D as it slides along the track. Now, as the rod P is moved in its bearings K, O, to shift the door to the right out of the socket A the tendency of the bar would be to move to the left rather, perhaps, than move the door. The spring U is provided, therefore, which holds the rod D stationary until the door has been displaced. In the movement of the rod P during this operation the depending portion 'I is brought against the spring and depresses it so that it then lies between the bar D and track C whereby as the door is shifted along the track the said bar D will pass over the spring and hold it down until the door is again moved to the right whereupon the spring will again move into the path of the bar and lie opposite its end as in the iigures of the drawing.

lVhen grain is to be discharged from the car, the lower portion 11 is released and dropped down out of the way. The slide 8 is then opened and permits the grain lying against and in the vicinity of the door to How out. The door having been relieved of the weight of grain against it can now be easily opened.

In the opening and closing movements there is a small movement of the door along the bar D from which it is suspended due to the cranked rod I) and its arm R as the door enters or leaves the sockets A.

rl`he track in angling away from the side of the car as shown, guides the door away from the doorway and along outside of the car after said door is made to lie parallel to said track.

In the slight swinging movement of the door from its position opposite the sockets A and A2 to a position parallel with the track, or vice versa, the rod L by which the door is suspended at its right hand edge 'from the casting M will turn within the part K of the door and allow free movement of the door at that side.

It is observed that the arm Q of the rod P lies behind the door section 11 and that the latter covers it. The section also covering the opening 7 and its slide 8 and thus all of the parts including the door section II can be put under the seal of the railroad.

Preferably the door is hung from the member D although if desired its edge nearest the socket A2 may be suspended rom'the track by means of the rollers N.

If desiredfthe door 11 may act asa brace across the main door and the strip l0 may assist as a part with which the said door li may engage and the opening 7 for the delivery of grain in consequence may not be be-` neath saiddoor 11 but `maybe in some other part of said door G, this lying within the invention.

Having claim l. The combination with a car and its door opening, of a track, a member mounted upon and movable alongthe track, a door hung trom the member, a crank arm having a bearing on said door and on said member, and a movable stop in the path of themember for preventing its movement relatively to the track. y

2. In combination with a car and its door opening and a track above the opening spaced from the side oit the car at one side of the door opening and slanting toward the said side of the car at the other side of the door opening, of a door and a part from which it is suspended slidable upon the track, there being a recess in each door j amb for receiving the edge of the door, the distance between the bottoms of the recesses being greater than the width of said door, a movable stop arranged to automatically move into the path of the suspending structure when the door lies opposite the door opening', and means to move the stop out of said path.

3. In combination, a car and its door open described our invention we ing, a track secured above the opening and.

being a part lying parallel to the side of the car and a part extending at an angle 1nwardly toward the side of the car, a member suspended from and movable upon the track,-

a door suspended at one edge from the member, the suspending means thereof including a crank-arm mounted at one end on the door and at the other end on the member and adapted to support the door from said member, and a movable stop lying in the path of the said member.

4L. The combination of a car and its door opening, there being a recess at each side of the opening to receive the opposite edges of a door, a track for supporting the door, said track including a part spaced from the side ot the ear above one side of the opening and extending at an angle inward toward the said side of the car and terminating above the other side of the opening, a door suspended below and from the track, and guided at one edge into one of the recesses by said track, a crank arm mounted on the door and at its other end upon a part of the suspending means for said door, the bearings for the arm on each being disposed vertically, a member lying in position to automatically engage the door structure to prevent movement of the door along the track when lying opposite the door opening, there being, an extension of the Crank arm to engage and remove the member from said door structure at a predetermined time.

5. The combination with a car, its door opening, and a track, of a member suspended from and movablev along the track, a door hung' from the member, a vertically disposed rod journaled on the door and having` a vertically disposed cranked portion journaled in the member, said rod adapted to pivot relative to both and including also an arm extension on the said cranked portion lying substantially parallel to the said rod, and a stop lying normally and elastically in the path of the member and engaged and moved by the said extension of the cranked member.

In testimony whereof I', BENJAMIN B.

HARRIS, afliX mysignature, in presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMN B. HARRIS. Witnesses A. M. J'ANEs, C. F. WHITE. ln testimony whereof BnNJAMN E. DONNER, aliX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMN F. DUNNER. Tvlfitnesses:

ROY E. CLARK, E. E. Lrons. ln testimony whereof l, ROBERT H. Mc- NAIR, aliix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT H. MGNALVR. Vitnesses:

WILLIAM A. MONAIR, THOMAS C. MONAIR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. C. 

